The artists of ImaginAction know creativity is everyone’s birthright and that tapping into the wisdom we all carry can lead us to transformative action. With the leadership of our creative director Hector Aristizábal, our workshops have traveled the globe, using theatre to create rituals that allow individuals to recreate themselves while bringing healing to the community. In a world where many people suffer from a sense of disconnection, in our workshops people spontaneously form “sudden villages” of mutual caring and concern. ImaginAction villages have sprung up in Nepal, India, Palestine, Afghanistan, Italy, Northern Ireland, the US, Spain, Holland and many more places. Much of this work has been captured on film, and with your support, we’re ready to transform that footage into a series of DVDs offering new tools for facilitators, educators, social workers, artists, activists, therapists and many others.

ImaginAction in Action will illustrate different aspects of our work: Theater of the Oppressed (including Image Theater, Forum Theater, Cop in the Head, Rainbow of Desire), psychodrama , traditional storytelling, puppet-making, drumming, improvisational drama, creative ritual and more. These techniques are designed to inspire emotional connection and the sharing of personal stories. In this way, we use the arts as a laboratory to explore social issues, inspire creativity and playfulness, and facilitate community and individual healing.

The ImaginAction DVD project will also tell the story behind the creation of Hector Aristizábal’s solo performance, Nightwind, and the interactive audience engagement process he has developed to accompany it. Nightwind takes the audience on a journey through Hector’s life including the dark days and nights when he was detained and tortured. After the performance, Hector engages the audience in a short workshop that enables them to transform their emotional reaction to what they have just witnessed into embodied knowledge using drumming, dynamic meditation and Image Theater. Our DVD will introduce the technique and practice of facilitating transformative engagement not only with Nightwind, but with any work of art that arouses powerful emotions.

The Impact

The DVD series, ImaginAction in Action, will allow us to introduce artists, community workers, students and educators to powerful techniques for creative transformation. The DVD will make it easier to share and multiply this work with communities across the globe.

What We Need & What You Get

Producing ImaginAction in Action Fromthe hundreds of hours of footage that we have will take a lot of editing time. Additionally, we anticipate incurring costs for production and distribution. Our goal, to raise $6,000 (US) in the next 60 days, will help us get the project off the ground. All backers will receive updates with video links on the development of ImaginAction in Action. Rewards will include copies of the new ImaginAction in Action DVD;ImaginAction in Rome bonus DVD; production credits on the DVDs; and more.

Other Ways You Can Help

Share, Share, Share! The more people know about this campaign, the more backers we will have. Spread the word in your community and social circles! Your support will help us reach our goal, and ultimately, help these valuable techniques reach the global community.